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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced on Tuesday,
February 22, 2022, that RICHARD SANSBURY, age 28, a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced for his participation in the June 17, 2019, robbery of the CVS pharmacy located at 4901 Prytania Street in New Orleans.

United States District Court Judge Greg G. Guidry imposed a sentence for each count of the three- count indictment to which SANSBURY plead guilty. As to count one, SANSBURY was charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery involving a controlled substance, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2118. For count one, the court sentenced SANSBURY to a term of imprisonment of 121 months in the federal Bureau of Prisons. As to count two, SANSBURY was charged with armed robbery involving controlled substances in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2118(a) and (c)(1). For count two, the court sentenced SANSBURY to a term of  imprisonment of 121 months in the federal Bureau of Prisons. Counts 1 and 2 were ordered to run concurrent to each other. In count three, SANSBURY was charged with discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii). The court sentenced SANSBURY to a term of imprisonment of 120 months for this count. The sentence imposed in count three will run consecutive to the sentences imposed in counts 1 and 2. Following his term of imprisonment, SANSBURY will be placed on supervised release for a period of 4 years. The court imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $300.00.

According to documents filed in court, at approximately 6:06 a.m., Richard SANSBURY and his co-defendant, Alan Parson entered the 24-hour pharmacy, armed with weapons. Both wore hooded sweatshirts and blue medical gloves. Upon entering the store, SANSBURY removed a firearm from his waistband, went behind the front counter, and zip-tied a cashier. SANSBURY led the cashier to a restroom inside of the store. Parson went to the rear of the store, in the pharmacy area, and forced another employee to the ground before securing a second employee’s feet with zip-ties. Parson then filled a large trash bag with several pill bottles that he retrieved from the pharmacy’s safe. SANSBURY entered the pharmacy area as well and zip-tied the second employee’s hands.

SANSBURY and Parson attempted to escape through the store’s entrance but upon exiting the store, encountered responding New Orleans Police Officers. SANSBURY and Parson engaged in a shootout with the officers that resulted in one officer being shot in the shoulder. Video surveillance captured the robbery as it occurred inside of the CVS pharmacy, as well as the subsequent shootout with police.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe
Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime
reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police
Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David Haller and Brittany Reed of the Violent Crime/Strike Force Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.